The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play Kong Renes Datter (King Rene’s Daughter) by Henrik Hertz, a romanticised account of the life of Yolande de Bar. The play was translated by Fyodor Miller and adapted by Vladimir Zotov. The opera received its premiere on 18 December 1892 in St. Petersburg.